In A Crown of Roses, Sayumi Kamakura invites us into her perceptive heart to roam in the field of her mind, to feel its space and enjoy haiku flowers ~ precious moments effortlessly blossoming for all:
Our smiles
lighter than a cloud—
sweet peas in bloom
This initial poem is a greeting to all readers, aptly in Reply by Humming, section 1. I reply smiling, feeling a mass of vibrations buzzing inside me from the embracing beauty of these three lines—envisioning humans smiling smiles potentially more transitory than a cloud. Smiling enables us to appear as sweet peas in bloom, human flowers as we are, delicate with so much radiance to share simply by being…. happy.
The brightness of Sayumi’s nature continues to beam in:
I am a primrose
at your side,
I am allowed to bloom
Reminding us, again, we are human flowers with every right to live and live well…flourishing side by side.
Sayumi’s supreme sweetness of depicting images is evident in:
The yawn of a carrot
is covered
with mud
A carrot rising through soil, emerging from darkness, as if from sleep, appears to be yawning, when looked on with the brilliant clarity of Sayumi’s haiku discernment. These words, give growing vegetables an endearing, enchanting character, as Sayumi cleverly engages us with the image of a carrot yawning to the daylight on waking from sleep as humans do.
Whirling Blue, section 2, bears haiku such as:
Back to the rock
in the field
a rainbow returns here
Grass seeds
flying to discover
the pure sky
These haiku promote the journey rather than the destination, a whirling enthusiastic movement ending where it’s meant to end, evolving freely, colourfully, to do the full circle, flying on as seeds to discover the pure sky, to continue growing, Whirling Blue: A lovely title for these free-flowing ku.
A Dream Is a Dream, section 3, Sayumi continues her all embracing work bringing insight into the shapelessness of wind, as an analogy for the true shape of our individualism… the root meaning of the word individual is indivisible. Despite our exterior differences and similarities, we are one like the wind, merging, and soaring, united in our shared experience of living. May humanity embrace the prayer in the following haiku, to accept every coloured human rose:
Wind has no shape—
please accept the yellow roses
and the red roses
Sayumi delights us with her dreams… The following conjures images of her dreaming state where she is actually creating a country; however, its symbolism perhaps indicates our incredible ability to create in life… with the ingredients of sleeping, rising each day, and working, we make a country of our life, full to bursting with the abundance of our dreams!
Sleeping, getting up
and stirring mud—
making a country
We shall cross the water
and pass the mountains
until we reach ‘hope’
The above poem invites the reader to walk with Sayumi in her dreams, taking us on an adventure to the land of hope—the kingdom of optimism. A journey to be taken in elevated spirits regardless of its challenges, enabling the fruits on reaching ‘hope’ to be filled with sweet nectar to the soul; happiness being a quality not depending on the destination, but resulting from the journey arriving to it.
Sayumi lifts our voices into sky in Our Voices, section 4, with 18 haiku gifts, such as:
The morning begins—
a deep blue thread
breaks
The colors of the sky
are never
red, yellow or black
Let our voices
be delightful
Mackerel clouds
In the first ku, we see dawn breaking; as if by magic, the deep blue of day expands from just a thread, to overtake the sky, transforming like alchemy, night to day, dark to light, and cold to warmth. The second is a celebratory affirmation; from it comes the clear reflection that the sky is blue, white, or grey; beautiful transitory states of which blue skies often reign supreme due the presence of our life-giving sun! The third haiku representing this section, offers good counsel. Sayumi asks us to bring our voices together and be delightful… the root meaning of the word, mackerel is ‘to bring together’. Sayumi skilfully bridges the ocean with the sky, merging the swift-moving, streamlined attributes of the Mackerel fish with the free-flowing buoyancy of clouds, to encourage us to let our voices be delightful, and joyfully fill the sky.
They bend their knees
in sleep: the father,
child, and cucumber
The mother is a spring—
drinking water
to her heart’s content
Sayumi anthropomorphises the cucumber and a spring in these ku, ascribing human attributes to the cucumber likening its bending form as similar to the sleeping father and child, in the first ku. In the second, she lovingly portrays the resemblance of the benevolent mother to a bountiful spring, replenishing and life-giving.
La La La the Sea, section 5, Sayumi displays a playful tone:
Stupidly,
the floating ice
enjoys the rays of sun
Little birds come
to a delicate bush
called “eyelashes”
Residing in myself:
a fool, an idiot
and an evening light
The enchanting beauty of the first haiku is evident from the amusing vision of floating ice enjoying the sun, naturally oblivious to its eventual demise. This lucid image credits Sayumi’s artful haiku work, and leaves us with childlike smiles. The second ku displayed here, reveals Sayumi’s gentle nature over again, as she playfully unites little birds with delicate bushes and eyelashes. The third ku is a real life home hitter, finishing with the sanctity of an evening light abiding within us; a gentle light to dim the effects of less desirable, yet very human qualities we all experience to learn and grow, at the same time as we simply accept our humanness.
Eternity Among the Trees, section 6, the final piece of A Crown of Roses exhibits deep and moving contemplations:
If you walk
among the bare trees
you will see eternity
Whether right or wrong
the snowy field
fills with snow
The title of this section, Eternity Among the Trees, has an alluring, romantic appeal, drawing us to trees on which our lives depend. Mystically, trees are the markers, the constants, the silent witnesses of life’s events; they symbolise life and growth, reaching down to the ground and up to the sky at the same time. Known to denote the tree of life—the knowledge of good and evil, trees signify so much in our lives that the first ku shown here, instantly evokes the feeling of infinity within me… suddenly, I am barefooted walking among bare trees all of us naked to the many faces of life and lifetimes.
Sayumi demonstrates rational thinking wonderfully in the second ku, presenting readers with visuals of the seasons of nature, moving through their cycles, free of human translation or wishes… beyond right or wrong lays our destiny. This ku speaks of impermanence, subtly encouraging us to enjoy the altering scenery, as it remind us of the adage ‘This will also change’.
Someday my knees
will be wrapped
in brilliant clouds
Sayumi dreams, she even seems to yearn for the day her knees are wrapped up in brilliant clouds, one with nature, merged with the incomprehensible All That Is. Her wish to do so, one may deeply respectfully understand, would be to merge with her daughter’s star, as preciously portrayed in the following. Sayumi’s heart a brilliant brave star:
My daughter’s star
going in and out
of the empty bottle
